Direct Placement

An interview gives you the chance to showcase your abilities and qualifications. at GHR once you get the interview, we don't throw you to the wolves. Your GHR Direct Placement Specialist will guide you through the entire process from the first interview to accepting your offer. Below are some additional strategies that will help you land that job!

Helpful Strategies
• Interview Tips
• Questions to Ask the Interviewer
• Counter Offers

Interview Tips

Below are some general guidelines that apply to most interviews. In addition, your GHR Direct Placement Specialist will give you information that is unique to each company and position you are interviewing for.

• Be on time for your interview. You should call and confirm your interview time with your GHR Direct Placement Specialist.
• Dress for success. Be well groomed, and reflect a professional image. If you’re not sure of the dress etiquette for the company, wear a suit.
• Show enthusiasm. Have a good, confident attitude - smile! Make sure to give a firm handshake. And, be nice to everyone you meet, from the receptionist to the interviewer - you never know whose opinion will be solicited.
• Maintain good eye contact when conversing with the interviewer. Express yourself clearly (voice, diction, grammar.)
• Do your research. By researching the company ahead of time to find out all you can in regards to their products, services, customers and competition, you’ll have a better understanding of the company’s needs. By determining the company’s mission, you’re in a better position to sell yourself. It’s also very beneficial to find out the company’s culture, to see if you’re a good fit with the company itself.
• Provide direct responses to questions. Make sure you understand what the interviewer is asking, and are actually answering the question the interviewer asked. If you are unsure, ask for clarification.
• In addition to discussing your past accomplishments, be prepared to discuss long-term career objectives. If possible, correlate your objectives into the company’s mission statement.
• Remember the basics. Have knowledge on three strong (positive) points about yourself; be able to give specific examples that highlight these strengths. Have knowledge on three weak (negative) points about yourself, and turn them into positive points. For example, “I tend to over plan for projects, but due to this, the majority of my projects come in on time, if not before.”
• Be concise. When selling yourself for the position, give specific and relevant examples of your successes. Where you can, show an accomplishment that associates tangible numbers, such as “I increased productivity by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, by…” Prepare your stories prior to the interview.
• Compliment past employers, don't be negative about them. This is especially true if you are staying in your current field of work. You never know who the interviewer knows; plus, giving a negative review of current/past employers, shows a lack of maturity
• Be prepared to ask about the position and the company at the appropriate opportunity. Your questions indicate your interest in the company and the job. Make sure to take paper and pen, so you can take notes.
• At the end of the interview, project your interest to the interviewer if you feel this is a good opportunity for you. Express appreciation for the interviewer’s time.
• Show me the money? No! If the interviewer asks what your salary expectations are, what is important to remember here is that they are not really looking for a figure, so do not mention one. They are testing your interviewing etiquette. There is only one acceptable reply to their compensation question, which is: "(Name), I am here because I believ e there is opportunity for me with your company. I WILL CONSIDER YOUR STRONGEST OFFER."

Questions To Ask the Interviewer

• What are three things you want me to accomplish in this position?
• What would be my first major project?
• What are the goals of the department and how can I help to achieve them?
• How can I make an immediate impact in this department?
• What critical areas are you addressing currently, and how can I help you?
• What additional responsibilities will I receive after my first year?
• Do I have the necessary technical skills needed for this position?
• I am very interested in this position; may I have the job?

Counter Offers

Article courtsey of Jamie Fabian at Jamie@jobcircle.com.
For More of Jamie's articles visit JobCircle.com's Career Coach.

The Counter-Productive Counter-Offer

It's counterintuitive, but counter-offers are almost always counterproductive for your career.

We’re not talking about the give-and-take involved in a salary negotiation. We mean the kind of counter-offer you might receive when you announce you're resigning to take another job.

It may be an ego boost, but a backhanded one. If you were so valuable all along, how come you had to quit to get your employer to recognize it?

The simple answer is that most companies don't have to be proactive in this labor market. They can coast because the demand for talent isn't that hot and there are lots of unemployed pros out there. No need to spend extra money unless the company is forced to do it.

That must be the case because they've made you a counter-offer. It looks like you're in the driver's seat now. But you're not. You just think you are.

What's Wrong with This Picture?

The reason that most companies make counter-offers is so that they - rather than you - are in control of the timetable for transition. When someone resigns, the general rule is a two week notice period (a month or longer for those in management roles.) That means the company's got to scramble to find a substitute for the role you've been filling. Odds are it's going to take longer than that to find a candidate who's going to be a good fit.

That's why they'll give you more to stay around. While you're basking in the satisfaction of getting more money and/or a better title, your boss is reviewing resumes and taking her time to interview replacements. When she finds that special someone, you'll be history.

The Worst That Can Happen

You might think that being eliminated would be the worst thing that can happen if you take a counter-offer, but you'd be wrong. The worst thing is that you stay, and are viewed as untrustworthy. Or disloyal. Or an extortionist. It depends on the way your boss shades your actions.

The end result is, no matter how you behave in the future, you'll always be regarded with suspicion. You've already shown that you're ready to leave, so management will be waiting for you to do it again. You'll be at the bottom of the list for promotions and good assignments. Training? Why would a company invest in someone whose longevity is questionable?

You'll also be subject to some "me too" fears. No matter how discreetly the counter-offer situation is handled, there's always the possibility that news will leak out. Don't be surprised if you're increasingly cut off from co-workers. Management doesn't want your peers to get the idea that they can wring some more out of the company by copying you.

Want to Supersize That?

Before you grab a counter-offer, it's important to think about what's being offered and what actually brought you to the point of leaving in the first place. A counter-offer is almost always about money. The reasons people leave are almost never about money alone.

The reasons people leave are money and something else, or more commonly, something else and maybe money too. Where's the something else in this counter-offer?

An extra few thousand per year doesn't change the 60-hour work week and insane deadlines. It doesn't release you from the boss who doesn't make decisions and lack of upward mobility. It doesn't shorten your long commute. After the glow wears off, you’ll be back where you started… because you never left.

How long will it be until you're job hunting again? It doesn't matter whether they let you go or you let them go. The stress of the search will be the same. And you may not have as much energy for the hunt the next time around. If you pass on the job offer in your hand right now, what's the cost of finding the next one? Will you have to pay sooner … or later?

Better Safe than Sorry

What if the new job doesn't work out? What if it's no better than the job you're leaving?

Who knows. It's just as likely to be a good change as a bad change. At first, it may be hard to tell which was the safe alternative. Over time, you'll get some perspective. And, even if it's not for the better, for the first months, at least it's different.

You'll have the opportunity to look back at your old situation and decide whether it was really as hard as you thought while you were there. Your former employer gets the same opportunity, assuming that you handled your exit gracefully.

A respectful refusal to a counter-offer can leave the door open for an eventual return. All parties can benefit from a hiatus. These days, it's very acceptable to leave and return later with a higher profile.

The skills and experiences you gain with another company can make you more valuable than if you had stayed. Plus, you have a better negotiating position, knowing what the culture and environment of your former company are. You may be able to bargain for better working conditions or a more favorable reporting structure in addition to the compensation and title you want.

Leaving Gracefully

But first you have to handle your exit properly. It's a delicate process to extract yourself with your reputation and relationships intact when a counter-offer is on the table. And regardless of whether you intend to return, you do want to preserve the company's respect for you.

That means you take the time to consider their proposal, even if you have no intention of taking it. No matter what the offer is, make it look like you have to consider it. Tell the manager who offers the deal that you'll need a day or two to think it over.

Use that time to plan your response. You'll need to be gracious, definite and concise. Here’s an example:

"Name of Manager, I really appreciate this offer. It's gratifying to know that Name of Company values me so highly. I feel the same about my experience here, but this other position is an opportunity that I just can't pass up. I'm sad to be leaving all my colleagues here, but this is the right time for the right next step for my career. How can we use the two weeks before I leave in the most productive way? I've jotted down some ideas, and thought that we should get together to plan, maybe later today or tomorrow. I want to be as helpful as I can be during this change."

Don't get caught up in a discussion of where you're going and what makes this opportunity so much better than your current job. Politely refuse to discuss it by saying that you want to focus on an orderly transition. Keep saying it, if you have to, until you make your point.

More

After you've rejected a counter-offer, another one may come your way. Your manager may propose a short-term extension for your exit date. If you're will ing and the start date for your new job is flexible, this may be a good way to offset any residual bad feeling. If you agree to this, be sure to set down in writing what the conditions of this extension are. It may be an amendment to your original resignation notice (which also should be in writing), or a separate document. It should contain the dates and details for the extension, including work hours, compensation and responsibilities. It's really a mini-contract, so be sure to get it signed by the manager before you go ahead with it.